KeiVarae Russell due to practice for Irish; Ishaq Williams to remain out

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The internal academic probe that had cast a cloud over the early part of last year's Notre Damefootballteam appears to be approaching its conclusion.

Coach Brian Kelly said Thursday he is confident cornerback KeiVarae Russell will be cleared by the NCAA to play this season, while the status of defensive end Ishaq Williams is less certain.

"The information I've gotten back from [athletic director] Jack Swarbrick and our athletic administration is that we've submitted everything. We feel confident in the information that we've submitted to the NCAA, and we feel very strong about [Russell's] eligibility," Kelly said during his camp-opening news conference Thursday. "We certainly were guided through this process in terms of what he needed to do. He went out and did that. But it's now out of our hands. We feel strongly about checking the box and doing the things that we were required to do along the way."

Kelly said Russell will practice with the Fighting Irish when camp opens Friday in Culver, Indiana. Williams, meanwhile, will not.

"That process is ongoing, so I don't have anything specific to report other than I know that that process is still ongoing and he will not practice until we get further information," Kelly said of Williams. "And there's two that are out there: It's KeiVarae and Ishaq. They're separate and different and distinctly different places. KeiVarae will practice, Ishaq will not because the cases are different, and both of them are going through the process right now."

Kelly said his general understanding is that the process with Williams should not take much longer.

"Once we get clarification from the NCAA with a ruling, then it will make that decision very easy because he's in his last season of competition," Kelly said of how to integrate Williams into the season. "I know Ishaq, in talking to him, has the thought and the goal to play in the NFL. And if we can accommodate him after a decision has been made, whether it's pro or con -- if it's pro, and we hope it is, he plays. If it's con, we'll have to evaluate whether it helps him to practice and work out for that next level, and those are decisions that we'll have to make once we hear something from the NCAA."

Kelly said he is uncertain whether the NCAA's rulings on Russell and Williams officially will close the book on the ordeal. Notre Dame had said last year that it would vacate wins if necessary.

Russell and Williams -- along with receiver DaVaris Daniels and linebacker Kendall Moore -- were suspended last August as part of Notre Dame's internal academic investigation into academic misconduct. Decisions on the status of those players for the 2014 season did not come down until October.

Daniels chose to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the NFL draft. He ultimately signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent this spring.

Moore, who already had an undergraduate degree, also chose to pass on a potential fifth and final season.